An English major alumna from Saint Vincent College (SVC), Nicole Fratrich has won various poetry contests, including ones sponsored by The Ligonier Valley Writers and The Catholic Daughters of America. Her short story “The Key” was selected as the winner of the 2018 Emerging Mystery Writer scholarship contest for undergraduates; the story was published in the November 2018 issue of Mystery Weekly Magazine. In 2019, her short story “The Branded Shadow” was published in an anthology titled The Twofer Compendium by Celestial Echo Press, an imprint of Gemini Wordsmiths. Nicole has also had several chapters of short stories published in the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat newspaper. She has a novel in progress as well. When she is not writing, she jams to ’80s music and chills to classic horror movies!

Read More of Nicole’s Work!

In “The Key,” Professor Veronica Averill helps the president of Milton university find the original key to the university, a family heirloom that’s been passed down to each president. After the murder of a fellow professor, Veronica’s continued sleuthing is accompanied by a visit from the spiritual world.

Read “The Key”

Blake seeks help from his twin brother Ben after shooting a competing rancher in self-defense. Ben, who is the sheriff, probes Blake to discern the facts. Offended, Blake skips town, knowing that the son of the rancher he killed will be after him. Blake finds Rosemary stranded outside of town and kidnaps her out of anger toward his brother. Blake just can’t shake the feeling of living in Ben’s shadow, and now he must prove his innocence…

Read “The Branded Shadow”

A tribute to a high school peer, “Self-Inflicted” is a five-part poem published in Generation, Saint Vincent College’s literary magazine; Nicole was the secretary for the 2020-21 issue

Read “Self-Inflicted”: https://generationsvc.com/2021/05/04/self-inflicted/